Barbara Kafka, a legend in the food world, created the single best roasted potato recipe we have ever eaten. She calls them “melting potatoes,” from her book Vegetable Love. In this dish, the potatoes act like rice in risotto, absorbing the butter, oil, and chicken stock. Faith’s experience is that they drive people wild.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter unsalted, cut into 6 pieces, plus 1 tablespoon reserved in refrigerator
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 potatoes large (3 pounds) baking potatoes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- 2 cups chicken stock or canned broth
Servings:
Instructions
- Place rack in top third of oven. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
- Put the 3 tablespoons of butter into an 18-by-12-by-2-inch roasting pan. Set the pan over medium heat just until the butter has melted. Remove. Add the olive oil.
- Peel the potatoes. Cut in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half again crosswise. Cut each quarter into 3 wedges. Roll the potato wedges in the roasting pan until evenly coated with butter and oil. Arrange in the pan so that they touch as little as possible. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 15 minutes. Turn wedges with a pancake turner. Roast another 10 minutes. Turn again. Roast 10 minutes more. Remove pan from oven. Turn wedges again, making sure to turn the white sides of each wedge face-up. Add the stock or broth. Return to oven for a final 15 minutes. The potatoes can be made up to this point and held for 4 to 6 hours.
- When ready to serve, dot the wedges with small pieces of the reserved tablespoon of butter. If the potatoes have been at room temperature, roast 15 minutes. If they are still warm, 5 minutes will do nicely. Remove potatoes to a platter right away or they will stick to the pan.
Faith I love your shows. I especially love your book shows and always the food schmooz. BTW, I am glad you spelled it today because although I never tried to get recipes from the schmooze the spelling of schmooze may have taken me a bit of extra time. I haven’t been familiar with it.
Madeline, I sympathize; Food Schmooze is tricky, so I explain it this way:
SCH (like school)
MOO (like cow)
ZE
Another way to go is search using my name, Faith Middleton Food Schmooze (R). Cheers, Faith
They are not kidding. These potatoes are to die for. Stuffed, ate way more than I should; I could not stop!
Make them, you will be glad to know this recipe, you will use it again, I guarantee. Its so easy too.
April, I was just telling Barbara, we’re about to do a two-minute video showing how to make these Incredible Melting Potatoes, the best I’ve ever had. Cheers, Faith
Faith, you are a joy to listen to because you exude sheer joy and childlike enthusiasm…thanks for all you do! And the potatoes were awesome!
Anton, I made these potatoes this past weekend, but burned them because i was looking online for new shoes! But Chris Prosperi brought some this morning and we had them for lunch. I’m making them for Thanksgiving. The creator, Barbara Kafka, is a food legend. Stay tuned for a very short video on how to make these potatoes! Cheers, Faith
Faith, when will the short video be available?
Beverly, we just putting the final touches on that video so it will be posted before Thanksgiving here on our site and on Facebook at Faith Middleton Food Schmooze. Hope you enjoy! Cheers, Faith
Bought mashed to save time and energy but than I saw this recipe this morning. I originally told my kids I was making roasted potatoes but this recipe looks delicious and may find energy to make them.
I could not find the video today.
When will it be out?
Karen
Hi Karen. We encourage you to make these for sure! And, sorry about the video; I don’t believe it actually made it over to the website. I like Smitten Kitchen’s images of the potatoes, though, if it helps you to get a better visual.
Yep, the potatoes were amazing! I was a bit iffy about the chicken stock but I figured you wouldn’t steer us wrong, so I went with it! WOW!!! Way too yummy! Cheers! Pamela
Did I hear you say you could make these ahead of time and just reheat…I’d like to make them on Tuesday for thanksgiving dinner….
Heather, on many occasions I’ve served these to my guests at room temperature, but you could also flash heat them in the microwave before serving. Enjoy the holiday and don’t be a stranger! Cheers, Faith
Faith, love,love,love your show! Will let you know how dinner turns out!
Any travels planned for cooking groups?
Heather, we await word, and will let you know when it’s time for me to lead a food and wine tour! Cheers, Faith
Making these now to try.
Can I freeze them for Thanksgiving?
Lynne,
The consensus in our office is to say no, don’t freeze and reheat them. We think the cell structure will break down and make them mushy. Besides, they’re so perfect as they are…I’d find another dish to do-ahead. Eat, drink and be merry, Faith
Would the potatoes be adversely affected if I left the skins on?
Donna, well, you’d still have sides exposed and those sides would absorb the chicken stock and butter. Cheers, Faith
Have you made these with vegetable broth rather than chicken broth?
Theo, we have not used vegetable broth to make these and cannot verify the flavor. Having said that, you could use a good quality veg broth and perhaps add a splash of white wine..Cheers, Faith
Faith, I like you suggestion of adding a splash of white wine with veggie broth. I also need to make these vegan – do you think coconut oil can substitute for the butter?
Diane, i wondered if these needed to be vegan. If it were me, I’d give it a try with coconut oil and olive oil. Cheers, Faith
I would use MELT sticks or Earth Balance Sticks instead of butter to make these vegan w the veg broth and a bit of win- won’t be quite the same. (11/25/19)
Can I make the potatoes today, refrigerate and reheat tomorrow? I saw where you advised against freezing them, but what about the refrigerator? Thanks!!
Tina, I am so sorry to have missed this in time…I had promised to staff facebook from morning until night Wednesday. Apologies. the answer is, yes, you can. Cheers, Faith (These are good any time of year!)
I substituted duck fat for the butter and duck broth for the chicken broth. Amazingly! Everyone loved them! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Love your new show and website. Great idea!
Happy Thanksgiving, Faith.
Peggy, can I tell you that I’m drooling over this? And I vow to try this just as you have done it! Cheers, Faith
Made these Christmas Day to serve with pork loin. Honestly, we found them a bit bland. I punched them up with some herbs before serving, but they need garlic or something.
Kathy,
Every person’s taste is different. This is a first for us on these, hearing them described as bland. So what we say is do whatever you’d like to boost the flavor to your liking…you can use bacon fat along with the butter…you can add garlic…freshly grated cheese, garlic, etc. No matter what, we want you to enjoy it, so have at it!’Cheers,
Faith
For the vegetarians in the family, wondering if Vegetable Broth would maintain the deliciousness?
Going vegetarian is better than not making them at all, we suppose. Experiment, and let us know how it goes!
Haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it appears to be a riff on a Jacques Pepin recipe for stove-top baby Yukon Gold or red potatoes that we call “Mushroom Potatoes”. A little less work than all the turning, and probably doesn’t feed as many as this recipe, but it also melts in your mouth with little crispy edges. Melt some butter and oil in a large, preferably non-stick. skillet. Add enough baby potatoes to fit in a layer. Sprinkle some kosher salt, thyme or tarragon and enough chicken broth to come halfway up potatoes (about 1 -2 cups). Bring to boil, turn down to simmer, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Take off lid, and using a mallet or a heavy heat proof measuring cup, gently smash each potato until it breaks (and looks like a mushroom). With lid off, continue simmering until potatoes absorb liquid (about another 20 minutes) and form a little crust on bottom. Turn potatoes over and lightly brown on other side.
I’ve been making these for years and it’s nice to know where the recipe came from. I do sprinkle roasted garlic power and smoked paprika plus thyme and use baby yukon gold potatoes- very addictive! For vegans substitute MELT for the butter to approximate the flavor of butter.
When you achieve inside fluffiness and flavorfulness and outside crispiness, try this just before serving….a spritz of lemon juice as a finishing flavor. crispy outside, fluffy, light, inside and flavorful everywhere.